“our Brands Have A Legacy We Need To Protect – Not For Us But For The Future” – Deoleo Talks Sustainability Priorities

Credit: Id-art/Shutterstock

As nan world’s largest shaper of oliva oil, quality, traceability, sustainability, and of people taste, are astatine nan bosom of Deoleo’s philosophy.

Backed by CVC Capital Partners since 2014, Madrid-headquartered Deoleo is based successful nan epicentre of nan world olive-oil industry, and arsenic good arsenic its Spanish installation successful Alcolea, Córdoba, nan institution has a mill successful Italy located successful Tavarnelle, Florence.

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It counts Bertolli, Carapelli and Carbonell arsenic its astir renown brands among a plethora of others, which helped nan institution make yearly income a tad awkward of €1bn ($1.17bn) successful 2024.

The olive-oil manufacture successful Europe, however, has been blighted by drought and wildfires successful caller years to nan chagrin of consumers, who person seen prices connected supermarket shelves emergence considerably. And ambiance alteration has added to nan challenges emanating from diseases, astir notably Xylella fastidiosa.

Amid those challenges, Just Food’s Simon Harvey chatted pinch a trio of Deoleo experts responsible for starring nan company’s ESG agenda, led by Maria Luchetti, its
chief marketing, invention and sustainability officer.

Luchetti was joined by Jose Aparisi, nan world caput of firm communications, nationalist affairs and ESG, and José Rica, world marque head for Carapelli and sustainability director.

Deoleo’s Bertolli marque of other virgin oliva oil: Credit: HelgaQ/Shutterstock

Simon Harvey (SH): What are nan main ESG challenges that Deoleo faces?

Maria Luchetti (ML): We person a worldwide effect arsenic nan biggest branded olive-oil player. We guarantee that nan oliva lipid we put successful nan hands of our consumers is precocious value and is adapted to nan different organoleptic tastes astir nan world.

We want to guarantee we person oliva lipid for early generations. It each starts by taking attraction of nan land, taking attraction of agriculture and farmers’ cultivation practises.

We attraction connected helping our farmers because we person a batch of soul method knowledge to thief them upgrade agriculture practises, particularly astir regenerative agriculture – amended usage of nan soil, h2o and energy management, nan usage of agro-chemicals and societal aspects too, aliases nan measurement they negociate group successful nan field.

We person a sustainability protocol to scope these farmers and thief them pinch KPIs, actual actions and assistance.

From our ain accumulation activity, it’s reducing nan biology effect of our factories. It’s a elemental process – we blend oliva oil, select it, vessel it, and sphere it successful nan champion conditions. In our factories, it’s astir taking attraction of nan waste, taking attraction of nan energy and h2o management. Our process is rather cleanable successful that sense.

SH: Do you put definite demands connected your suppliers?

ML: We person a sustainability protocol and for farmers to person entree to our assistance they request to subscribe to our protocol. We activity pinch them for 1 to 2 years to get them fresh for this certification. They person training each twelvemonth from our method team.

We thief them group objectives for h2o reduction, reducing nan discarded and moving them towards regenerative agriculture. It’s besides astir really they negociate power and protecting biodiversity.

Jose Aparisi (JA): One point that is captious for america is we partner pinch universities and walk those learnings connected to farmers to instrumentality these techniques. One illustration is ungraded – what are nan actions we request to put successful spot successful Greece and successful Spain, for instance? We past return these learnings to farmers and show them this is nan measurement you request to dainty nan soil.

ML: We are participating successful nan EU programme Soil O-Live and getting backing to initiate training to forestall nan degradation of ungraded and guarantee nan value of nan oliva oil.

JA: Sustainability managers are besides moving connected nan farms nether our ESG protocol to thief farmers to instrumentality sustainability practices nether nan business model.

ML: We started nan sustainability protocol successful 2018 to create each nan criteria to get certified. We bargain oliva lipid from different countries – from Spain, Italy, Greece, and Tunisia, and sometimes from different parts of nan world, for lawsuit Argentina and Chile.

We started pinch Spain wherever there’s a batch of different farmers, a batch of families progressive connected small portions of onshore that past goes into cooperatives. We spell into each nan specifications of nan protocol covering 8 different points of action specified arsenic nan environment, water, energy, ungraded protection, biodiversity, discarded guidance and quality. Also included is nan usage of agri-chemicals.

We now person immoderate certified mills successful Italy and past successful nan past 2 to 3 years we broadened that to Tunisia, Greece, Argentina and Chile. Every year, it’s astir going a measurement forward, enlarging, certifying much mills astir nan world, and expanding that percentage.

Olive lipid grove successful Córdoba, Spain: Credit: Barmalini/Shutterstock

JA: We don’t springiness farmers thing successful speech for enrolling to our protocols because they judge it is nan only measurement to guarantee nan early of their oliva groves. Sometimes they person to conflict internally pinch taste things they person been doing for years.

ML: Consumers nowadays are overmuch much alert of bio trends, nan usage of agro-chemicals, nan oliva oil’s origins, societal aspects, and these benignant of things, truthful we pass to consumers connected nan bottles that this is sustainably originated oliva oil.

JA: We are employing blockchain to put QR codes connected nan olive-oil bottles to opportunity this is nan source, this is nan village, this is nan variety, this is nan city, truthful farmers request to put each nan accusation successful unreality systems. It puts worth connected our brands and it puts worth connected farmers.

SH: Do retailers travel to you and opportunity this is what we want to spot successful position of ESG credentials; are they rather fierce successful their ESG agenda?

ML: The travel retailers are connected has been really transformative. Three, 4 aliases 5 years agone it was very difficult for america to understand who was nan correct stakeholder wrong nan retailer who was going to perceive to our sustainability strategy.

Yes, they were sending assessments each twelvemonth but it was not each of them that were willing that much. That has changed dramatically during nan past 3 years and they now person their ain targets. They’re besides adhering to SBTi [the Science Based Target Initiative for CO2 emissions).

José Rica (JR): We person monthly requests from customers each complete nan world related to our c footprint, emissions, packaging, really we produce, nan value of nan products, really it is sourced. They’re very willing astir nan sustainability protocol, really we way and really transparent we are pinch consumers done nan QR code.

SH: I ideate reducing Scope 3 emissions successful your proviso concatenation are your biggest situation fixed nan number of mini workplace suppliers?

ML: Scope 3 represents 99% of nan effect that we’re having arsenic a company, particularly related to earthy materials specified arsenic glass. We person worked pinch SBTi and person group a target to trim our Scope 3 emissions by 36% by 2032. They person been trim by 31% since 2022.

It’s been a travel for america because we person been measuring Scope 1 and 2 emissions since 2020-2021 but they were only 1%. If we want to make a difference, it’s astir Scope 3, and this is wherever SBTi is helping america a lot.

We purpose to trim absolute greenhouse state emissions from Scope 1 and 2 by 50% by 2032, utilizing 2022 arsenic nan guidelines year.

Harvested earthy olives successful crusher: Credit: Cristina Pietraperzia/Shutterstock

SH: What does Deoleo do connected nan labour beforehand – ensuring a surviving wage, workers’ authorities connected farms?

ML: Within our protocol we person a socio-economic aspect, which includes men and women. One of nan improvements we’ve made is 90% of nan certified mills person signed a committedness connected labour authorities and 23% person an equality plan.

JR: We person organised, for example, a mates of symposiums successful Córdoba to springiness visibility to women connected nan farms. They are very important successful this assemblage but they haven’t had visibility for nan past 50 years. We are now giving visibility to nan women that are successful nan worth chain.

JA: The olive-oil assemblage has ever been men dominated but if you really excavation into it, it’s women who are starring this conversation. When we started moving pinch nan universities, who was starring nan process connected quality? A woman. When you spell to nan testing sheet that we’re utilizing successful each nan labs and factories, who is nan personification starring this lab? It’s a woman. It’s a female erstwhile you spell to nan farmers, and sometimes it’s nan female who wants to return attraction of her grandfather’s aliases father’s bequest to support nan land. So we created that arsenic a pillar of our strategy successful nan past 2 years.

In Italy location is besides a procreation problem. There are nary young group who want to proceed moving connected nan farms aliases nan mills. We want to group up a task successful Italy to promote young group to proceed this process. Our brands of Bertolli, Carapelli and Carbonell person a bequest that we request to protect – not for america but for nan future.

And this sustainability portion is critical.

ML: Olive lipid is truthful bully for your wellness that it deserves nan champion attraction passim each nan worth chain. That’s why our strategy is articulating 3 large pillars from nan workplace to nan array of nan consumer.

Our sustainability protocol is to return attraction of nan onshore and nan farmers. Then nan 2nd pillar is called ‘blending pinch love’ related to each our activities astatine nan factory, nan value that we want to ensure, nan effect of our activities, and reducing nan effect of our activities. The 3rd pillar is caring for you – a ngo of educating nan user astir wellness and oliva oil.

SH: Drought has been a large problem for nan European olive-oil manufacture and besides disease. How do you spell astir protecting onshore use?

JA: Something that was incorporated successful this assemblage past year, is location are different types of oliva tree. One is nan ace intensive oliva character wherever you person to guarantee h2o but you power nan h2o overmuch better, pinch overmuch amended quality, and you person much exertion to summation nan accumulation successful a controlled way.

We are helping farmers and encouraging them to deliberation astir ways to toggle shape their oliva trees to different kinds. You tin support successful immoderate areas nan accepted oliva trees but you request to commencement investing successful different kinds of much modern oliva trees to power production, trim h2o and beryllium prepared for ambiance change.

SH: Deoleo says its uses 98% renewable electricity. Can you explain?

ML: Our soul procreation of energy comes from star panels that we person installed successful our 2 plants successful Italy and Spain. We invested successful star successful Italy past twelvemonth and successful Spain 2 aliases 3 years ago.